Operation Homefront Presents Cornerstone Award to Beam Suntory's Ken Ruff

News provided by

Operation Homefront, Inc.

Dec 21, 2016, 10:15 ET

SAN ANTONIO (PRWEB) December 21, 2016 -- Operation Homefront, the national nonprofit that builds strong, stable, and secure military families, has presented its Cornerstone Award to Ken Ruff, VP of National Accounts, On-Premise for Beam Suntory.

The Holiday Meals for Military program began Thanksgiving 2009 as the result of a chance encounter in a supermarket in Utica, N.Y., near Fort Drum. A soldier, his wife, and infant had a handful of grocery items they could not afford, so Ruff picked up the $12 cost for the groceries. Since that time, the program has grown from initially providing 500 meal kits to military families in 2009 to providing more than 12,000 this holiday season. Beam Suntory continues to be a major supporter of the program.

Said Ken Ruff: “Operation Homefront has never left our side since we began this program together. You took one idea and made it something so much greater for thousands of military families. I am proud to be a part of Beam Suntory, and I thank Operation Homefront for making this dream come true.

“Seven years ago, Ken Ruff noticed a military family without enough money to cover their holiday groceries. Ken stepped up and with $12.00, changed the outcome for that one family. His simple act laid the cornerstone for our Holiday Meals for Military Families program,” said Brig. Gen. (ret) John I. Pray, Jr. “His inspirational gift was the very foundation upon which we have built our Holiday Meals program. From that one family, we have grown our program to taking care of over 57,000 families since the program first started.”

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About Operation Homefront: A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families since its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity watchdog groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront’s expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to http://www.OperationHomefront.net.

Aaron Taylor, Operation Homefront, Inc., http://www.OperationHomefront.net, +1 202-744-1326, [email protected]